Christmas Miracle 1935 Read online

  They sat, and he took one of the chairs across from them.

  Sophie fought to keep her voice from trembling as she explained everything, starting with seeing the newspaper article and ending with their trip to the feed store.

  “The bag of jewelry was like the one Daddy brought home. The robberies were this week, so he couldn’t have been involved. But the bag was in the same place where he found the first jewelry,” she said, her voice as firm as she could make it.

  “And what did you do with it?” he asked sharply.

  “Jack told me I had to put it back or the police would think I stole it. So I did.”

  He glanced at Jack. “Exactly the right advice.”

  “Thank you.” He added, “I realize now that I should have told you we were taking the truck.”

  “Right again.” He gave Sophie a stern look, “You should have come to me. Nobody is going to accuse me of stealing anything.”

  “Yes,” she whispered, then was bold enough to say, “If you lend me the money for a lawyer, I can pay you back—eventually.”

  He made a dismissive sound. “You don’t have to do that. I think I can handle it.”

  She felt the awful weight lift off her chest. “You will?”

  “Yes, I’ll call Mr. Franklin, my lawyer, in the morning. Of course, I can’t give him any information over the party line, but I can make an appointment. Now all of us better get some sleep.” He turned to Jack. “And next time, tell me when you’re planning to be out late with the truck.”

  Standing, he headed for the stairs, leaving Sophie and Jack in the living room.

  When Mr. Conway had gone, Jack turned to her and pulled her close. “I told you it was going to be OK,” he said.

  “I was afraid to believe you. But it still isn’t over.”

  “I know. But nothing else is going to happen tonight, and we both need to get some sleep now.”

  “Yes.”

  He brought his mouth to hers for a quick kiss, and then said, “Now go on, before we get into any more trouble.”

  ###

  Things happened quickly after that. Sophie, Jack, and Mr. Conway went down to the lawyer’s office, and she explained again what had happened. Then they went home to wait.

  Sophie wanted to tell her mother about the hopeful developments, but she didn’t dare—for fear it would only lead to bitter disappointment. Then two days later, on Christmas eve, Dora told Sophie that she needed her help on a last-minute grocery shopping trip. Jack drove them both into town. He and his mother seemed jittery about something, but they wouldn’t tell her what. When they came back with some holiday food, she walked into the house to find . . . her father sitting at the kitchen table. He wasn’t the bedraggled man she and Momma had visited in jail. He was still gaunt, but his hair was freshly cut, his face was shaved, and he was wearing a new suit. It was like a Christmas miracle.

  She gasped when she saw him, then flew into his arms, so thankful that he was out of jail.

  “How? What?” she managed to ask, her words unsteady.

  “Matt’s lawyer did it all,” Hannah explained with a catch in her voice. “He argued that there was insufficient evidence to lock him up in the first place.” She gave Sophie an apologetic look. “If you’d had a good lawyer, you could have at least gotten him out on bail.”

  Mr. Conway jumped in. “But then when there were more robberies, they could have blamed him. With him in their custody, he couldn’t have done them.”

  Sophie had planned to spend Christmas Eve at home, so she’d be there in the morning.

  “I’ll drive you and your father over,” Jack said.

  “Emeline wants to go too,” Jenny broke in, “and meet Sophie’s brothers.”

  “Another time,” Hannah said. “This is a special occasion, and I think the family will want some private time.”

  Sophie looked at Dora. “Do you need me to help with dinner tonight?”

  “You go on,” Hannah said. “I’ll help.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. You should all be together now.”

  When Sophie slipped down the hall to get some things, she looked up to see that Jack had followed her.

  She turned to him with a questioning look.

  “I want to settle something important before you go home for Christmas.”

  She felt a little frisson go through her. “What?”

  “I was wrong about you when you first came to the farm. You are an amazing girl. Your father wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t made me drive you to the feed store.” He looked back at the open doorway, then pulled her close. “I want you to know I love you.”

  She could hardly believe what she was hearing. She knew how she felt about Jack, but she hadn’t been sure he felt the same.

  A warm glow enveloped her as the word washed over her. There was no hesitation when she said, “I love you too.”

  They clung together for a long moment before she eased away. “I have to get ready.”

  “I know.”

  Before he left, they claimed a quick kiss—and she knew it was a down payment on a lot more to come.

  Closing the door, she changed into one of the nice dresses she’d inherited from Mr. Conway’s mother.

  Daddy and Mr. Conway were talking in the kitchen as she came back in. Her father greeted her with a broad smile.

  As Jack drove her and Daddy home, she knew why he and his mom had been jittery on the way to the store earlier. They’d been trying not to spoil a wonderful surprise. Now her heart was pounding as they made the turn into the Garrett driveway.

  When Momma heard the car, she stepped onto the porch. And when Daddy climbed out of the passenger seat in his new clothes, her jaw dropped open. Then she made a glad sound—and started weeping as she dashed down the stairs to embrace her husband while he ran toward her. The boys came out too and joined in the group hug.

  By mutual agreement, she and Jack stayed in the car. He was still sitting behind the wheel, and she was in the back seat. He swung toward her and put his hand on her shoulder. “I want to ask you to marry me, but I don’t want you to move into that hovel where I’m living.”

  Her heart skipped a beat. “I don’t care about your house.”

  “You think you don’t, but you will when you’re freezing and trying to cook over an open fire. I don’t want that to ruin our marriage. It’s better to wait until I get the house in reasonable shape. Actually, Matt said he can hire your father to help. And my father will join in too, since there’s not so much farm work in winter.”

  “Mr. Conway’s going to do all that?”

  “Yes, and he wants to increase the farming aspects of the property, so he’s offered your father a permanent job.”

  “Does Daddy know that?”

  “Yes.”

  They had so much more to say to each other, but before they could finish the conversation, Harold ran over to the car and pounded on the window. “What are you doing in there? Come out.”

  She looked at Jack. “I’ll see you in a couple of days,” he said.

  “Yes,” she answered, torn. Now that he had talked about marriage, she desperately wanted to spend more time with him. But she wanted to be with her family now, too.

  She climbed out and hugged her secret news to herself as she joined her happy family, so relieved that Daddy was back and that they weren’t going to have to worry about his job.

  Epilogue

  On their wedding day, Sophie was thankful that Jack had the wisdom not to rush her to the altar. Once he’d told Matt he intended to marry Sophie, his boss had decreed they should have a suitable place to live. The house was now a lot bigger and had a modern kitchen, two bedrooms, central heating, and a brand-new bathroom that hadn’t existed when Matt had first turned the structure over to his farm manager. Because Jack had learned frugality from his parents and had saved most of his salary, he and Sophie had been able to pick up wonderful buys on furnishings from people in town who needed extra ca
sh.

  He and Sophie were married at the small church a few miles away. Sophie wore a lovely new white dress and carried a bouquet of dogwood blossoms. And Jack had a new Sunday-best suit that he assumed he’d still be wearing years from now.

  Hannah, whose baby was due in about six weeks, was radiant as the matron of honor. Jenny was their flower girl, and Sophie’s father, looking happier than he ever had in his life, gave her away. He loved his job at Highland Farm, and because used vehicles were so cheap these days and the Garretts had more money than ever before, he’d been able to buy both a car for the family and an old truck for work.

  The wedding reception was in the backyard of the main Highland Farm house, and Dora, Hannah, Sophie and her mother all contributed dishes—with Dora making a beautiful cake. Sophie invited some of her old friends from school, and Jack did the same so that there were almost forty people in attendance—quite a crowd.

  After the reception Sophie started to help the other women clean up, but they shooed her away, and she and Jack retired to their new house, which was decorated with a “Congratulations” banners that Jenny and Sophie’s brothers had made.

  She was only a little shy with Jack as they stepped into their cozy bedroom. They had agreed to save making love for their wedding night, but they’d had plenty of opportunity to slip away together for a good deal of intimacy. And now when her husband reached for her, she came eagerly into his arms.

  “I’m so happy,” she murmured.

  “I think I’m getting the better part of the bargain.”

  “I disagree, but I’m sure we have better things to do than argue about it.”

  “Yeah.”

  He brought his mouth to hers for a long, hungry kiss, and she melted against him. He’d changed everything for her the night he agreed to drive to the feed store, and now the best part of their lives was beginning.

  THE END

  AFTERWORD

  I loved writing the story, Christmas Miracle 1935, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. If so, I would ask you for a favor. Wherever you purchased this set, please take a few minutes and leave an honest review. Authors enjoy hearing that readers like their stories, and hopefully, others will read your words and choose to buy the book because of your sentiments.

  My website at http://rebeccayork.com now has all my books listed with links to the various publishers to make it easy for you to return to where you bought the book and to find my other work.

  While you’re there, I’d really appreciate it if you would sign up for my newsletter so I can keep in touch.

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  Rebecca

  About the Author

  A master of paranormal romantic suspense, Rebecca York is the author of over 150 books. A New York Times and USA Today best-seller, she has written paranormal romantic thrillers for Berkley and romantic thrillers for Harlequin Intrigue. Her romantic-suspense series, Decorah Security, is set at a detective agency where agents have paranormal powers or work paranormal cases. She also writes an Off-World series where each story is a science fiction romance taking place on a distant planet in the far future.

  Her many awards included three Career Achievement Awards from RT Book Reviews, a Prism Award, and two RITA finalist books. Find more about Rebecca’s work at her Web site or Facebook page or Twitter page.

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  If you enjoyed Christmas Miracle 1935, you might like to read other Light Street Press books by Rebecca York:

  DECORAH SECURITY SERIES

  Book 1. On Edge (a Decorah Security prequel novella)

  Book 2. Dark Moon (a novel)

  Book 3. Chained (a novella)

  Book 4. Ambushed (a short story)

  Book 5. Dark Powers (a novel)

  Book 6. Hot and Dangerous (a short story)

  Book 7. At Risk (a novel)

  Book 8. Christmas Captive (a novella)

  Book 9. Destination Wedding (a novella)

  Book 10. Rx Missing (a novel)

  Book 11. Hunting Moon (a novel)

  Book 12 Terror Mansion (a novella)

  Book 13. Outlaw Justice (a novella)

  Book 14. Found Missing (a novel)

  Book 15. Preying Game (a novel)

  Book 16. Boxed In (a novel)

  Book 17. Hollow Moon (a novella)

  Book 18. Can She Get Home for Christmas? (a novella)

  Book 19. Fire on the Moon (a novel)

  Book 20. Hunter (a novel)

  Book 21. Cursed (a novel)

  Book 22. Trapped (a novel)

  Decorah Security Collection (an anthology including Ambushed, Hot and Dangerous, Chained, and Dark Powers)

  And if you like science-fiction romance, you might enjoy the following Rebecca York books:

  OFF WORLD SERIES

  Book 1. Hero's Welcome (an off-world series short story)

  Book 2. Nightfall (an off-world series novella)

  Book 3. Conquest (an off-world series short story)

  Book 4. Assignment Danger (an off-world novella)

  Book 5. Christmas Home (an off-world short story)

  Book 6. Firelight Confession (an off-world novella)

  Off-World Collection (includes Nightfall, Hero’s Welcome, and Conquest)